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Canada1979 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses
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For example, Charles V. Johnson did colporteur work way up in the Peace River country of northern Alberta, following up the activities of those who had witnessed there earlier. In 1919 a Bible Student named Nielson had been along the railroad as far north as Lesser Slave Lake. That was about 450 miles (720 kilometers) from the U.S. border, quite a distance north in those days! John Hamilton pioneered the Spirit River district from 1923 to 1934.
Concerning a system used by Kingdom proclaimers in Saskatoon, George Naish writes: “Often weekends would see two of the brothers loaded with literature entrain and head for some small town not too far away where house-to-house work would be done until the return of the train, either that day or the next, made it possible to return home. If our return could not be made until the next day, leaving us the evening or part of it after the town had been worked, we would walk in different directions to the farmhouses within walking distance, meaning two to four miles [3 to 6 kilometers] away. We would work in a half-circle back to the village or town, board the train, and arrive home tired but happy about the privileges we had been able to share.”
Just how industrious were proclaimers of the “good news” in those days? Well, consider what happened once when a mistake was made in ordering literature, resulting in the arrival of over 2,000 volumes of Studies the Scriptures for a small group to distribute. The one who erred in placing the order recalls: “Great was my mystification one day on returning home . . . I was greeted by the janitor of the building, who asked, ‘What on earth have you boys been ordering?’ I explained, ‘Just some books.’ His reply was, ‘You must have ordered a public library.’ . . . What were we to do with 288 sets of books, a total of 2,016 bound books? My partner refused to go along with my suggestion that I write to the Watch Tower Society’s Toronto office about the matter. He insisted that the solution was more and still more field service to place the literature. Interestingly enough, in less than a year we were completely out of Studies in the Scriptures, speaking well for the hard work of the brothers in the congregation.”
In branching out in Kingdom service, we used all sorts of vehicles—bicycles, buggies and “democrats” (four-wheeled wagons pulled by horses). Also, there were horse-drawn rigs made of old auto bodies. In the wintertime, these were closed in and were called “cabooses.” Although they were heated by small wood-burning stoves that kept a passenger warm, there was the danger of being burnt if the caboose turned over. For open buggies there was some warmth provided by fieldstones that had been heated all night and then placed in the buggy at one’s feet. Blankets and buffalo robes completed the equipment.
Sometimes Jehovah’s people would cover large areas by forming caravans of early-day autos. The outside running boards along the bottoms of the car doors in those days were just the place to prepare meals or sort out literature! Tenting equipment that was taken along served to provide the needed sleeping accommodations.
Loretta Sawyer recalls her colporteur days with horse and buggy in Saskatchewan. She reports:
“The territory allotted me ran, from home, northward about 35 miles [56 kilometers] to the Saskatchewan River, westward 35 miles and was bounded by the same river, southward to the main line of the railroad and then eastward back toward home. It covered about 900 square miles [2,300 square kilometers]. . . .
“Never was I without lodging for the night for myself or my horse. Jehovah always provided. Occasionally there would be a slight charge, but never was anyone nasty or unable to put us up. Along with being bedded down for the night, my horse and I received our breakfast, and my foot-stone was heated for a warm start those chilly fall days on the open prairie.”
It was at this time, too, that a small class began to develop well in Wakaw, Saskatchewan. This has had a definite effect on the Kingdom-preaching work in this land. Wakaw became an assembly place for the Bible Students. They made headlines in the community, since as many as 400 sometimes came there from other areas. Emil Zarysky of Wakaw became very active among fellow Ukrainians in the province and did a tremendous work. He served as a colporteur and as a pilgrim for a time. By 1926 there were 104 persons at the Memorial observance in Wakaw and growth was rapid. We can count at least 44 pioneers and missionaries that have come out of that small congregation. As many as 15 are still in full-time service, among them Joseph Lubeck and Olga Campbell (both now serving at Brooklyn Bethel) and Victoria Siemens and Helen Held.
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Canada1979 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses
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ADVERTISING THE KINGDOM IN QUEBEC
In 1923, Alexander Deachman and Peter Allan Robertson were sent to Quebec as special colporteurs. A report from the Quebec field during that year states:
“Our average of books [placed] per week has not lessened materially, and at present we can converse with the people intelligently on simple subjects. On Sunday evening, June 10th in the Leboeuf Hall, Valleyfield, we showed the ‘Photo-Drama.’ The Hall was packed with French and English and as a direct result twenty-five books were [placed]. The gentleman where we roomed requested that we put on the ‘Drama’ at his home; accordingly on June 13th, it was shown. Seventeen adults were present, all French Catholics. The English parson was going to use our slides to show in the Church on June 18th, but it was impossible to wait over Sunday in Valleyfield. . . . The Protestant pastors greeted us very warmly . . . they never raised a murmur and both of them have some of Bro. Russell’s books. At our boarding house one of the youngsters said she didn’t think she’d go to Church any more; we were much nicer than the priests. Everything points to an awakening. The King has prepared the way for his message; it only remains that laborers be found to carry forth the glad tidings.”
Among those privileged to preach in Quebec in those days was Janet MacDonald (although that was prior to her marriage to Bible Student Howard MacDonald in 1928). Janet began declaring the “good news” in Montreal in 1924. At that time she shared in distributing a resolution that had just been adopted at the Columbus, Ohio, convention. The resolution in tract form was entitled “Ecclesiastics Indicted,” and it clearly exposed the death-dealing nature of false religion. Sister MacDonald later reported:
“Following the routing set out by the Society, we went to many towns such as Granby, Magog, Asbestos and others in the Eastern Townships. To avoid opposition, we started distributing the tract from door to door at 3 a.m., and by seven or eight o’clock, when the town was active, our work would be finished. Several times we were arrested by the police, who tried to frighten us out of town. An example was at Magog, where the police took us to court. No charge was made, but we would have to pay $15 to get out. We said we did not have $15, so they reduced it to $10. We said we did not have $10, so it was reduced to $5. We said we did not have $5, so they let us go.
“At Coaticook, we ran into more serious trouble in May 1925. A mob led by the head knight of the Knights of Columbus surrounded us and tried to force us into a truck. We ran to the railway station and took refuge in the waiting room. The stationmaster saw the mob approaching and locked both doors. They milled around, waving their fists and pounding on the window. Soon the leader of the mob came back with the police.
“We were arrested and taken to the town hall, where a court was immediately convened. We were charged with ‘publishing a blasphemous libel’ because of the criticism of the clergy. The only witness called was the local Catholic priest. We were taken to Sherbrooke and locked up overnight in a filthy, vermin-infested jail, where I was so badly bitten that I required treatment for several weeks.
“The trial came up on September 10 before Magistrate Lemay, who decided to follow the law. He said: ‘There is here no blasphemous libel and I dismiss the complaint brought against the accused.’”
Clearly, it was not easy to advertise the King and Kingdom in Quebec in those days. Nevertheless, there, as elsewhere in Canada, faithful proclaimers of the “good news” forged ahead. There was a great work to do and they were eager to do it.
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